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Monthly Archives: April 2012

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Today, Komen Race for the Cure came to Ocean City, Maryland. Despite the wind and driving rain, more than 2,000 men, women, children, babies, people of all races, shapes and sizes, ran/walked/strolled the race to help find a cure for breast cancer. Did you know that the Eastern Shore of Maryland has some of the highest incident and mortality rates?

Myself and Suzie Taylor of Ayer’s Creek Adventures volunteered several months ago to help with operations and recruitment of sponsorships and teams. Unfortunately, sponsorship opportunities are not very affordable for most small businesses so, in Berlin, we decided that joining forces was the way to go. We organized sponsorship “Historic Berlin, Maryland” which included 14 local businesses, everything from coffee and thrift shops, to bakeries and hotels, restaurants, B&B’s and spa services. This was a huge success! Together, we supported a great cause and hosting a table in the race village allowed us to introduce our town to hundreds of people who didn’t even know that Historic Berlin, Maryland existed.

This event is personal to both Suzie and myself. My mother, thank God, is a breast cancer survivor thanks to regular breast exams, early detection and access to great health care. Suzie’s mother, Joann and her Aunt sadly lost their battle with this disease. It doesn’t get more personal than that. As a matter of fact, it seemed very personal to everyone in attendance. If not, I can’t imagine that we wouldn’t all have rolled over this morning and hit the snooze button instead of crawling out of bed and weathering the coastal storm that, today, decided to target the East Coast. I know we need the rain!

I have “raced for the cure” before in D.C. and get very emotional when the “Survivors Parade of Pink” starts. Today was no exception. I can’t help but marvel at the courage and strength of the women and men presented and of course, those souls and their families who lost the battle before the cure was found. Personally, I would love to know how much money is spent each year on determining the various causes of breast cancer. When my mother was 50, she didn’t know one person with breast cancer. I just turned 50 and I know handfuls of friends and family with this disease. Why, exactly, are some areas experiencing higher incident and mortality rate? I could go on and on.

Suzie’s sister Shelly and I ran together. We were perfectly matched for our pace. For the first leg, down the boardwalk, the wind was hitting us head on and then we rounded the corner both figuratively and literally. There were lots of supporters along the way, standing and cheering us on. This made me think about what this world would be like if we all had people in our lives acting as personal motivators cheering “You can do it”, “Great job”, “Way to go” . We were passed by some who made it look easy, but there were also people behind us who scratched their way to the finish line, everyone proud that they completed the course.

In all it was an exceptional day! I realize that there is often some controversy with organizations such as Komen, but if you only focus on that you’ve missed the point in my opinion. In addition to raising money to help find a cure, races such as this one, allow for a community of people to come together as one family. Being amongst that crowd, knowing that we all support the same cause, running/walking for or in memory of a loved one was, for me, both uplifting and spiritual. I know that I was not the only one who felt that. To me it reinforces the fact that we’re never alone if we care enough to reach out to one another, we need to live in this moment and spend time with the people we love. Most importantly, I know that, like today’s race, when people come together great things are possible!

Wow, hard to believe, but we just celebrated our 2nd Anniversary doing business in Berlin and we’re happy to report that we are alive and well!

We’ve learned tons in the last 2 years! Of course, there have been ups and downs, mostly ups thank God. The biggest lesson that we’ve learned is to be flexible, both in our business model and our product line. Our priority and focus will continue to be providing the highest quality all-natural desserts, artisan bread, locally handcrafted cheeses, and beverages to our customers, both resident and visitor, but some great changes are a coming.

When we relocated to our new, expanded location at 4 C Bay Street back in July 2011 our business model also expanded to include a Fine Art Gallery. With the increase in space also came the expansion of our product line. We added Organic/Vegan lunches, savory pies, all-natural candy and even have our own little General Store. So, it is with great pleasure to announce that, beginning in May, we will also be offering a “boutique” Wine selection in service to those customers wishing to indulge in finely crafted foods, fine art and fine wine. We’ll have some craft Brew too!

Our wine selection will, of course, be closely matched to our model of all-natural and GREEN with the focus on sustainable, biodynamic and organic wines. This is a unique selection of wine, which currently, in our humble opinion, is under represented in this area. We believe that our selection will bring a whole new meaning to “drinking responsibly”!

Just in case you don’t know…

Organic Wine…made with organically grown grapes, avoiding any synthetic additives and without any added sulfites

Biodynamic Wine…similar to organic in that both take place without chemicals or common manipulations with yeast additions or acidity adjustments. Biodynamic farming incorporates ideas about a vineyard as an ecosystem, and also accounts for things such as astrological influences and lunar cycles.

Sustainable Wine…refers to a range of practices that are not only ecologically sound, but also economically viable and socially responsible. (Sustainable farmers may farm largely organically or biodynamically but have flexibility to choose what works best for their individual property; they may also focus on energy and water conservation, use of renewable resources and other issues.)

Our wine selection will include those from the Old World (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Austria) and New World (US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Canada)

Whites – Light bodied (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris);

Medium bodied (Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Viognier)

Reds – Light bodied (Pinot Noir);

Medium bodied (Malbec, Sangiovese, Merlot);

Full bodied (Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah)

Sparkling

We intend to particularly enhance evenings of 2nd Friday Art Stroll and town festivals with wine tastings, food pairings and demonstrations and off sales. We look forward to the future! CHEERS!